Council adds another $410 million to November ballot

Updated 6:19 am, Thursday, August 16, 2012

Houston voters will decide in November whether local governments can borrow more than $2.7 billion for schools, parks, libraries and public safety.

City Council OK'd its portion of that total Wednesday, a $410 million package of bond measures. The crowded and costly ballot during a presidential election has some questioning whether voters will balk at the price tag.

"I think the voters are going to most likely turn down all bond referendums on the November ballot," Councilman Mike Sullivan said. "There is very little sentiment for more tax dollars to be spent right now on virtually anything. You can look at the Cruz campaign and the way that that election turned out, and there's a message there. People are fed up. People are tired of excessive spending."

Last week, Houston Independent School District trustees placed a $1.9 billion bond measure and Houston Community College's board approved a $425 million proposition for the November general election ballot.

If approved, HISD's bonds would pay to renovate or rebuild most of the district's high schools, remodel several elementary and middle schools and upgrade campus technology. District officials estimate the bond issue would require a nearly 5-cent property tax rate increase, starting in 2014. The phased-in rate hike would cost the owner of a $200,000 home an extra $70 a year in 2017, officials said.

The HCC bond issue would be used to update classroom technology, build a new medical center facility, expand campuses and boost workforce development programs. It also would phase in a 2 cent to 3 cent property tax rate increase. A 2 cent increase would translate to about $37 annually for the owner of a $150,000 house.

No city tax increase

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Ballot keeps getting longer

Council's approval to place five bond measures before voters this fall adds to a lengthy presidential election ballot that will ask Houstonians to authorize more than $2.7 billion in local government borrowing. A breakdown of what the agencies are asking for:

Houston Independent School District: $1.9 billion to rebuild or renovate most of the district's high schools, remodel several elementary and middle schools and upgrade campus technology.

Houston Community College: $425 million to update classroom technology, build a new medical center facility, expand campuses and boost workforce development programs.

City of Houston: $410 million to repair and replace facilities related to public safety, parks, libraries, housing and other government services such as health and sanitation.

Mayor Annise Parker pitched the Houston measures as the smallest city borrowing proposal in three decades and emphasized that it will not require a tax increase.

"I am saying with complete confidence that, if we were to borrow all of this money based on best available information today, it would not require a tax increase, and my pledge has been that we will not raise taxes while I am mayor of the city of Houston," Parker said.

The bond measures come up this year as part of a routine cycle of going to voters every five to seven years for the equivalent of pre-approval for a mortgage so the city can borrow money to fix and replace its buildings, parks, streets and drainage.

The city's last bond package of $625 million received voter approval in 2006. This year's proposals would pay for the city's recently approved five-year capital improvement projects list, which includes new police and fire stations, library renovations, playgrounds installed in parks and repairs to health and sanitation department facilities. By city ordinance, about $4.8 million will be spent on civic art as part of the projects.

"There can be some ballot fatigue in terms of the number of items" voters are being asked to understand and decide on," Adams said.

Supporters of the measures are selling them as vital to the city's future.

"We have a long tradition, from the port to the Astrodome to NASA, of coming together at times of need to make certain that we do our part in improving the quality of life for the city," said Billy Briscoe, campaign manager for Vote for Houston's Future, the group promoting the five city bond measures. "These are things that are good for the city."

Pennington cited city projections that its annual debt payments will rise from $225 million this year to $342 million in 2020.

"We need to do what we can to reduce those projected payments so that we can be assured that we can meet our budget," Pennington said. "I just don't think that we can afford $400 million-plus of debt at this particular time."

Councilman Jerry Davis said that while he agreed that council faces difficult spending choices in coming years, the bond measures are essential to the quality of life in his District B, which includes a number of low-income neighborhoods in northeast Houston.

"Right now, you just cannot ask a community to go without," Davis said. He also sent a message to the five at-large council members who seek votes in his district every two years, saying he has told constituents, "You don't need to give them another vote until you get something out of it." All five at-large members voted for the bond measures.